Writing instrument

ABSTRACT

A writing instrument is provided with a manual gripping device adjacent the writing point which comprises a resilient finger gripping portion of the assembly having a tubular sleeve enveloping the resilient portion. The resilient portion comprises an elongated tube, and a plurality of elongated slots formed therein extending axially with respect to the writing instrument barrel assembly over substantially the length of the resilient portion. The resilient portion may be a portion of the writing instrument barrel assembly, or the resilient portion and sleeve may be in the form of a separate unit which is installed over the barrel assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved finger gripping device foruse on a writing instrument or the like and more particularly to afinger gripping device which provides improved ease of manipulation ofan article employing the device.

Presently, there are a number of known devices which are intended toprovide a comfortable finger gripping area for finger manipulatedarticles, one such device being that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,932,800 issued Jun. 12, 1990 and assigned to the assignee of thepresent invention.

Other such devices are also known in the art and are disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,601,598; 4,167,347; 4,035,089; 2,236,194; 2,180,560;2,173,451; and 1,807,415. Known devices are also disclosed in theforeign patent art, by way of example German Patents 1,511,325;2,157,175; and International Patent Application PCT/US/00002.

Finger gripping devices such as those disclosed in the above cited U.S.Pat. No. 4,932,800, generally provide a sleeve of compressible materialfor assembly with that portion of an article grasped by the user duringfinger manipulation of the article. The basic function assigned to thedevice is to deform on application of gripping pressure and to at leastpartially assume the shape of the gripping fingers during manipulationof the article by the user. In general, the device is sufficientlyresilient to recover its original shape shortly after removal ofgripping pressure. Many of the finger gripping devices that are knownhave received acceptance in the marketplace, and have provided theconsumer with an improved writing device when combined with a writinginstrument such as a pen or pencil. However, while the various grippingdevices which are installed over the surface portion of the article tobe manipulated are generally simple to manufacture, a need arises for afinger gripping device which may either be incorporated within thestructure of the article to be manipulated, or as a separate unit, asdesired by the manufacturer. As is evident, the incorporation of thegripping device in the structure of the article would tend to produce athinner and less bulky gripping area, particularly when incorporatedinto a writing instrument.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide acompressible finger gripping device which is simple to manufacture andeasily assembled onto a writing instrument or the like.

A second object of the invention is to provide a writing instrumentemploying a manual gripping device adjacent the writing point whichprovides increased comfort and decreased fatigue during use of thewriting instrument.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a compressiblefinger gripping device which is adaptable for incorporation into thestructure of a writing device or may be manufactured as a separate unitfor assembly onto the structure of the writing device.

A further object of the invention is to provide a finger gripping deviceof the type employable with a writing instrument, which is simple tomanufacture and inexpensive, being adaptable to mass productiontechniques.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above objects and other objectives which will become apparent as thedescription proceeds are accomplished by providing a writing instrumenthaving a cylindrical barrel assembly with means for retaining a writingmedium disposed at one end. A resilient portion of the barrel assemblyis disposed adjacent to the barrel on one end and terminates at theretaining means. A unitary tubular sleeve envelopes the barrel resilientportion whereby the tubular sleeve and the barrel resilient portioncombine to provide a compressible finger grip to the user of the writinginstrument during operation.

Generally, the resilient portion of the barrel assembly comprises anelongated tube having a plurality of elongated slots formed therein, theslots extending axially with respect to the cylindrical barrel assemblyover substantially the entire length of the tube. Thus, the elongatedslots form a plurality of flexible beams which bend to provide theresilience necessary to enable compression by the fingers of the user.

The writing instrument may be fabricated with the cylindrical barrelhaving the slots formed therein connecting the means for retaining thewriting medium to the remainder of the cylindrical barrel or, in thealternative, the writing instrument may have the means for retaining thewriting medium connected to the barrel by a cylindrical support memberover which the elongated tube having a plurality of elongated slots andthe unitary tubular sleeve enveloping the tube are assembled with asupport member being disposed in inner spaced relation with theelongated tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The foregoing and other features of the invention will be moreparticularly described in connection with the preferred embodiment, andwith reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a writing instrumentconstructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view showing details of a portion ofthe structure of FIG. 1 taken on an enlarged scale for clarity;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 1 showing an alternateconstruction employing the teachings of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevational view showing details of a portion ofthe structure of FIG. 3 taken on an enlarged scale for clarity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawing and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, thereis shown a writing instrument 10 of the ball point pen type whichcomprises a barrel assembly 12, cap 14 and means for retaining a writingmedium in the form of a barrel tip 16.

The writing instrument 10 contains a writing medium of the type wellknown in the art in the form of an ink containing element 18 having aball point 19 at one end and the opposite end thereof mechanicallyconnected to a button 20 extending from the cap 14. A spring 21 isprovided to retract the ink containing element 18 rearwardly into thebarrel assembly 12, and consequently the ball point 19 into the barreltip 16 when the button 20 is released and the writing instrument is notin use.

The cap 14 is threadably received onto the rearward portion of thebarrel assembly 12 with the ball point 19 retained within the barrel tip16.

The ink containing element 18, ball point 19, and cap 14 are similar tothose assemblies well known in the art, and therefore will not befurther described with reference to the present embodiment.

The barrel assembly 12 comprises a cylindrical rear portion 22 havingthreads formed thereon for receiving the cap 14, and a resilientcylindrical portion 24 which may be fabricated separately and attachedby force fit into the rear portion 22, or may be formed of a unitarystructure with the rear portion, only of a lesser diameter. As isevident, the resilient cylindrical portion 24 is in the form of arelatively thin wall tube and is provided with a plurality of elongatedslots 26 formed over substantially the entire length of the tube. Theformation of the slots 26 is effective to produce a plurality offlexible beams 28 which are compressible inwardly of the barrel assembly12.

The resilient cylindrical portion 24 in the final assembly of thewriting instrument 10 is disposed in close fitting engagement with acylindrical tubular sleeve 30 of a rubber or thermoplastic material. Thesleeve 30 has on its outer surface a pattern which may be of any designwell known in the art which is effective to prevent slippage of theuser's fingers during operation of the writing instrument 10.

In assembling the writing instrument 10, the tubular sleeve 30 is placedover the resilient cylindrical portion 24 and the barrel tip 16 isprovided with a rearwardly extending cylindrical boss 32 which isreceived as a force fit into a front opening 33 in the resilientcylindrical portion 24 of the barrel assembly 12. The ink containingelement 18 and the cap 14 are now placed onto the barrel assembly 12 andthe writing instrument assembly is complete and ready for use. Referringnow to FIGS. 3 and 4, there is shown an alternate embodiment of theinvention wherein a writing instrument 50 comprising a barrel assembly52, a cap 54 and a barrel tip 56.

An ink containing element 58 terminating in a ball point 59 is disposedat the rearward end of the writing instrument 50 and a button 60 isemployed to advance and retract the ink containing element 58 against aspring 61 during employment of the writing instrument.

As in the previous embodiment, the ink containing element 58, ball point59 and spring 61 are similar to those well known in the art which areactivated by a mechanism such as the button 60 contained on the cap 54.These elements will therefore not be discussed more in detail as they donot provide an integral part of the present invention.

The embodiment of the invention depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4 primarilydiffers over that structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in that the barrelassembly 52 comprises a cylindrical support member 62 of substantiallyrigid material having an opening at the rearward end thereof which isforce fit over the forward outer surface 63 of a cylindrical rearportion 64 of the barrel assembly 12, or in the alternative the supportmember 62 and rear portion 64 may be molded as one piece. Thecylindrical rear portion 64 has a radially outwardly extending flange 65and the support member 62 has a radially outwardly projecting flange 66which is of lesser diameter than the flange 65. The support member 62 isreceived onto the cylindrical rear portion 64 until the two flanges 65and 66 are in abutting relation, as best shown in FIG. 4.

A forward end 67 of the support member 62 is of a reduced diameterproducing a shoulder 68 and the forward end 67 is dimensioned such thatit is force fit in the rear opening of the barrel tip 56, the barrel tip56 being received onto the forward end to rest against the shoulder 68.

As will be noted in FIG. 4, the barrel tip 56 has a radially outwardlyextending flange 70 of substantially the same diameter as the flange 65disposed on the support member 62 and a cylindrical boss 69 ofsubstantially the same diameter as the flange 66. Thus, in the presentembodiment, the cylindrical rear portion 64, the cylindrical supportmember 62 and the barrel tip 56 are assembled in a manner describedabove, and the ink containing element 58 and cap 54 may be included inthe assembly at this point.

To complete the structure and provide a resilient finger grip, aresilient tube 72 is provided, similar in construction to the resilientcylindrical portion 24 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Theresilient tube 72 has a plurality of elongated slots 74 extendingsubstantially over the entire length of the tube and forming a pluralityof resilient beams 76. However, unlike the previously describedembodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the resilient tube 72 is forced into atubular sleeve 78 add the assembled tube and sleeve are then forced overthe flanges 70 and 66 to form a structure as shown in FIG. 4. It shouldbe noted that with the tube 72 and sleeve 78 in place as shown in FIG.4, the combination is in spaced relation with the support member 62,allowing for flexure of the combination when gripped by the user.

In the present construction, the resilient cylindrical portion 24 andthe resilient tube 72 are both constructed of an acetal material such asthat sold under the trademark DELRIN by E. I. Dupont, and the slots 26and 74 respectively are six in number to provide adequate flexure whencombined with the tubular sleeve 30, or the tubular sleeve 78. Thetubular sleeves 30 and 78 are generally formed of an injection moldedrubber material and provide a substantially tight fit onto thecylindrical portion 24 or the resilient tube 72. Thus, the combinationof the two elements allows control over the flexibility of the grippingsurface in that the beams 28 or 76 are flexed substantially radiallyinwardly when pressure is applied by the fingers of the user. It shouldalso be evident that while the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 providesa substantially rigid writing instrument 10, should the requirements besuch that more rigidity be obtained in the barrel assembly 12 of thewriting instrument, one may turn to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and4 in which the rigidity of the barrel assembly 52 is not compromised bythe flexibility of the resilient tube 72 and the tubular sleeve 78, theelements forming only a gripping surface. The writing instrument 50therefore may be constructed having more flexibility in the grippingsurface than if the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 be employed.

While it is apparent that modifications and changes may be made withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention, it is my intention,however, only to be limited by the scope of the appended claims.

As my invention, I claim:
 1. A writing instrument comprising:acylindrical barrel assembly having means for retaining a writing mediumdisposed at one end thereof; a resilient portion of said barrel assemblydisposed adjacent said barrel one end and terminating at said retainingmeans; and a unitary tubular sleeve enveloping said barrel resilientportion; said resilient portion comprising a thin wall elongated tubeformed of a pair of bands having a continuous circumferential surfacedisposed one at each end thereof and a plurality of elongated slotsformed thereon extending axially with respect to said cylindrical barrelassembly between said bands, whereby said tubular sleeve and said barrelresilient portion combine to provide a compressible finger grip to theuser of the writing instrument during operation.
 2. A writing instrumentas set forth in claim 1 wherein said resilient portion of said tubularsleeve is fabricated of an acetal material.
 3. A writing instrument asset forth in claim 1 wherein said plurality of slots consists of sixslots equally spaced around the circumference of said elongated tube. 4.A writing instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein said tubular sleeveis fabricated of a rubber material.
 5. A writing instrument as set forthin claim 1 wherein said means for retaining a writing medium is solelysupported by said resilient portion of said barrel assembly.
 6. Awriting instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein said barrel assemblyfurther comprises a cylindrical support member of lesser diameter thansaid resilient portion of said barrel assembly, said support memberbeing disposed in inner spaced relation with said barrel assemblyresilient portion and equally spaced therefrom over the entire lengththereof to provide support for said means for retaining a writingmedium.
 7. A writing instrument as set forth in claim 6 wherein saidplurality of slots consists of six slots equally spaced around thecircumference of said elongated tube.
 8. A writing instrument as setforth in claim 7 wherein said resilient portion of said barrel assemblyis fabricated of a acetal material.
 9. A writing instrument as set forthin claim 8 wherein said tubular sleeve is fabricated of a rubbermaterial.
 10. A writing instrument as set forth in claim 7 wherein saidmeans for retaining a writing medium is solely supported by saidresilient portion of said barrel assembly.
 11. A method of fabricating awriting instrument having a cylindrical barrel assembly with a means forretaining a writing medium disposed at one end thereof which includesthe steps of:providing an elongated tube having a plurality of elongatedslots formed therein over substantially the length of the tube to form aplurality of resilient beams; placing said elongated tube within atubular sleeve having an internal diameter providing contact engagementwith the external surface of said elongated tube; and sliding saidelongated tube and said tubular sleeve over said means for retaining awriting medium to a point on said barrel assembly where said elongatedtube is radially spaced from said barrel assembly.
 12. A method as setforth in claim 11 wherein said elongated tube is fabricated of an acetalmaterial.
 13. A compressible finger gripping device for assembly onto acylindrical barrel of a finger manipulated article, said devicecomprising:a thin wall elongated tube formed of a pair of bands having acontinuous circumferential surface disposed at each end thereof and aplurality of elongated slots formed thereon extending axially withrespect to said cylindrical barrel between said bands to form aplurality of resilient beams; and a unitary tubular sleeve envelopingsaid elongated tube whereby said elongated tube and said tubular sleevecombine to provide a compressible finger grip to the user of the fingermanipulated article.
 14. A compressible finger gripping device as setforth in claim 13 wherein said elongated tube is fabricated of a acetalmaterial.
 15. A compressible finger gripping device as set forth inclaim 13 wherein said plurality of slots consists of six slots equallyspaced around the circumference of said elongated tube.